Despair

About

"Despair" is a horror action indie game where players explore subway tunnels and catacombs to discover the fate of missing passengers. Armed only with a flashlight and notes left behind, players must uncover the truth in a bug-ridden, poorly optimized game that still manages to deliver a chilling atmosphere. The ultimate goal? Understanding the terror that unfolded within the subway system.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

33%

Audience ScoreBased on 806 reviews

atmosphere15 positive mentions

graphics30 negative mentions

The game is very cheap, making it accessible for players looking for a low-cost experience.
Some players found the atmosphere and sound design to be effective in creating tension.
The game offers trading cards that can be sold for a profit, making it financially beneficial for some players.

The game suffers from poor graphics and performance issues, with many players experiencing lag and low frame rates.
Gameplay is slow and tedious, with a lack of direction and confusing level design that leads to frustration.
There is little to no story or character development, leaving players feeling unsatisfied and confused by the end.

graphics
77 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
40%
39%
The graphics of the game have received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many users describing them as subpar, reminiscent of outdated systems like the PS1 or N64. Complaints include poor optimization, choppy performance, and a lack of visual appeal, often exacerbated by technical issues such as crashes and glitches. While a few reviews mention decent visuals, the consensus leans heavily towards disappointment, highlighting that the graphics detract significantly from the overall experience.
- “This is the game that will blow your mind with clever puzzle design and stunning visuals.”
- “The graphics are stunning and amazing.”
- “Very atmospheric horror exploration game, graphics + effects are rather good, sadly it's too short (up to 1h gameplay).”
- “Bad graphics, too dark and choppy, no plot or story and it's still being sold.”
- “Subpar graphics that look like a bad N64 game.”
- “The graphics are terrible and the gameplay consists of walking around and solving 'puzzles' which don't even deserve this term.”
story
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
49%
33%
The reviews indicate a widespread dissatisfaction with the game's story, often describing it as vague, thin, or non-existent. Many players criticize the lack of clarity and depth, with some noting that the narrative feels disjointed or poorly executed, detracting from the overall experience. A few reviews mention potential or intriguing ideas, but overall, the consensus is that the story fails to engage or provide a meaningful context for the gameplay.
- “I enjoyed this particular room, as it reminded me a bit of Amnesia and gave a small amount of insight into the story in a very enigmatic fashion.”
- “Great storyline, gameplay is ridiculously amazing and awesome graphics.”
- “The plot I have still yet to fully grasp, but it has enough intrigue for me to want to continue playing after I have written this review.”
- “Extremely slow-paced and uninspired game, with little to no story.”
- “The quality of the game is really poor, no story at all; 'find out what happened' = the story, no clues, you're just walking around in the dark doing nothing at all.”
- “There is little to no story in the game save for the generic, cryptic notes.”
gameplay
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
66%
26%
The gameplay of this game has been widely criticized for being extremely short, often lasting only 15 to 30 minutes, and lacking depth, with many players describing it as boring and poorly executed. Common complaints include slow movement, clunky mechanics, and a reliance on tedious walking and simplistic puzzles, which detract from the overall experience. While some players appreciated the atmosphere and graphics, the overwhelming sentiment is that the gameplay is fundamentally flawed and unengaging.
- “The upsides are the interesting flashlight mechanics and the uncanny atmosphere.”
- “Very atmospheric horror exploration game, graphics + effects are rather good, sadly it's too short (up to 1h gameplay).”
- “Mechanically it's as simple as games come; you press E to pick up items, you press B to put a new battery in your flashlight, you press Shift to run (there's a blue stamina bar on the lower part of the screen) and you solve some puzzles.”
- “If you stick with it, there's maybe 30 minutes of non-gameplay, non-horror, a literal waste of your life - with a 'to be continued' at the end.”
- “The graphics are poor, the gameplay is poor, just boring and the glitching through floors and walls really put me off. I got quite far through the game and got stuck under the floor, which I had to start all the way again and walk at a snail's pace.”
- “The gameplay consists of walking around and solving 'puzzles' which don't even deserve this term.”
atmosphere
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
55%
8%
The atmosphere of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the sound design and certain tense moments, while others criticize the lack of depth and effective horror elements. Many feel that the graphics detract from the overall experience, and despite some attempts at creating an eerie environment, the game often falls flat, resembling a basic walking simulator rather than a compelling horror experience. Overall, while there are glimpses of a well-crafted atmosphere, it is undermined by technical issues and a lack of engaging content.
- “The atmosphere is fairly tense throughout and the lighting isn't half bad.”
- “I played for a solid ten minutes before encountering a single jump scare yet was completely on edge due to the atmosphere and sound design.”
- “The game has good horror atmosphere and sounds though.”
- “While there was some thought put into the atmosphere of walking around an abandoned subway, the cheap jumpscare sounds and nonsensical notes scattered around don't make this game any scarier than an ordinary walking simulator.”
- “Despair plays more like a walking simulator without the atmosphere than anything else.”
- “For a horror game, I'm amazed that they forgot to even put in a soundtrack or anything of that sort to build some kind of suspense or atmosphere.”
optimization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
21%
57%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, with many players reporting a locked frame rate of 30fps and a maximum resolution of 1080p, often dropping to 15-20fps during gameplay. The graphics are described as subpar, and the limited graphics settings contribute to an overall unplayable experience. Many reviewers express that better optimization could have improved their enjoyment of the game.
- “If it was more polished and better optimized, I would probably enjoy playing it.”
- “Games are horribly optimized for what little they contain; graphics settings are severely limited (resolution and low/med/high, that's all).”
- “It's unplayable and unoptimized, with broken settings and a broken language system where the translation might be in Russian or English, even though you picked English.”
- “The game is poorly optimized and locked at 30fps and can't get any higher than 1080p resolution.”
- “Game is poorly optimized.”
- “Games are horribly optimized for what little it contains; graphics settings are severely limited (resolution and low/med/high, that's all).”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and lag that significantly detract from the overall experience. While some players find it playable, the prevalence of technical issues and confusing gameplay elements has led to a generally negative perception regarding its stability.
- “The game isn't the greatest; no hate to the devs, it was a solid effort but lacks a story and has kind of confusing, buggy gameplay.”
- “Really laggy, glitches everywhere, and sometimes it doesn't load some crucial things.”
- “Well, the first thing I noticed was the buggy settings.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
50%
38%
The music in the game is largely criticized for its absence, with only minimal audio present during the bootup cutscene and main menu. Reviewers noted that the sound effects are merely average, and the lack of a soundtrack fails to create the suspense or atmosphere expected in a horror game. Overall, the music aspect received a low rating, with many feeling that even royalty-free music would have been an improvement.
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “There's no music to speak of whatsoever.”
- “The only music present is during the bootup cutscene and main menu.”
- “For a horror game, I'm amazed that they forgot to even put in a soundtrack or anything of that sort to build some kind of suspense or atmosphere.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is largely viewed as tedious and excessive, with players expressing frustration over the time-consuming nature of card farming and repetitive gameplay elements. Many feel that the grinding detracts from the overall experience, making it feel more like a chore than an enjoyable activity.
- “So stuff it, I'm not playing through all that tedious, boring crap again just for a let's play video.”
- “I know it says that I've played almost 10 hours, but I was just farming for cards, just don't bother.”
- “This game is jam-packed with excessive walking, pointless puzzles, amazing level design, over-the-top quicktime events, and all around fantastically tedious gameplay.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely perceived as unintentional, with many players finding it "hilariously bad" but ultimately disappointing, as the gameplay elements detract from any potential comedic value. While some reviews are entertaining in their critique, the overall experience is described as unenjoyable, lacking genuine humor.
- “I actually bought it because I thought it would make a funny playthrough.”
- “No, seriously, go read them, they're hilarious.”
- “I bought this to say thank you for everyone else that did, as the sheer hilarity of the reviews had me laughing my head off.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game has been criticized for its lack of replayability, with users noting that there is no incentive to play again and describing the "to be continued" ending as unsatisfying.
- “There is no replay value whatsoever.”
- “No replayability at all, and the 'to be continued' ending feels quite cheap.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The monetization of the game is criticized as exploitative, with users likening it to a cash grab amidst a sea of low-quality early access titles on Steam.
- “This game feels like just another cash grab in a sea of early access titles on Steam.”
- “The monetization strategy is frustrating and detracts from the overall experience.”
- “It seems like the developers are more focused on making money than creating a quality game.”